Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Thus, I'm being bold and putting myself out there with the first list of 2008.

With that in mind, here are the 8 songs that are rewiring my head as we speak...

1. Down--Chris Brown, feat. Kanye West. Holy hell, is that guitar line catchy. Kanye produced this track along with guesting on it, and as usual, he's in great form. I admit to being unimpressed with young Mr. Brown's attempted rise to the Michael Jackson arena at last fall's VMAs. But, with a few more tracks as well-polished as this (I'll also admit to a fondness for "Wall To Wall"), he's well on his way to supplanting Usher in my heart.

2. Smile For Them--Armor For Sleep. Look, I'm not going to argue for the lyrics of this song. It really does sound like Ben Jorgensen watched The Truman Show recently and considered it the deepest film of his life. But that intro lick is killer, and it's been stuck in my head for the last two days, so AfS must be doing something right.

4. Ching-A-Ling--Missy Elliott. It's been a few years, so it's understandable to perhaps have forgotten about Missy. But for the record: she's always creating some of the sickest and most original club-friendly hip-hop out there. Complete with some choice lyrics--I especially enjoy the reference to Michael Jackson's socks.

5. Broken Bride--Ludo. For God's sake, please pay no attention to the Final Fantasy fanvid that was created using this song. It tells its own story anyhow--an epic fantasy of love and time travel. Features mentions of pterodactyls in the chorus. This St. Louis-based band has another full-length due this year, but the odds that it can top their Broken Bride EP is low...some of the smartest pop-rock I've heard in a while.

6. Little Weapon--Lupe Fiasco. The news that Lupe Fiasco is already planning his final album and retirement came to me about two weeks after I began listening to The Cool, and I am left having to cross my fingers that he only means it in a Jay-Z kind of way. One of the "message" tracks on the album, never has the plight of child soldiers been so much of an earworm, thanks to some stellar production by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump.

7. Think It Over--Buddy Holly. Juno included a Buddy track on its soundtrack, so over the winter I'd been inspired to start listening again to my first-ever rock star crush (in the fifth grade, yeah, it was weird, shut up). This is a lesser-known song, but it's one of his most awesome--not only does it have a kickass piano bridge, Holly's voice is dripping with sass, something I always champion.

8. Medicine Man--The Hush Sound. My own video, from the show I saw back in December! Apparently this is the new single from their forthcoming album in March, and it sounds like they're as a great as ever. Vocalist Greta Salpeter's voice has gotten stronger and stronger, and I highly approve of the move to a bluesier tone to their harmonies. Fantastic stuff.